Youngbae could hardly contain his excitement now that Jayoung was in the car with him. His hurting heart which had yearned for her to reappear in his life was now leaping in his chest. Somehow, he felt like his heart was whole again. Jayoung could basically feel the excitement radiating off him.

“You’re not half happy, are you?” She let out a soft laugh, turning to look at the male’s smiling face. Even Jayoung was different to what she used to be. She wasn’t as jumpy anymore, and she seemed a lot happier. Youngbae was curious about what happened to her ex, but he didn’t want to pry.

“I’m very happy. Just, gosh, you don’t know how much we missed you” He reached over and grabbed her hand, squeezing it tightly. Youngbae had missed her so much. Jayoung gently squeezed his hand back.

“You keep talking about how much everyone missed me. But how much did you miss me?” Jayoung spoke quietly, almost shyly as she glanced down at their hands. Youngbae was taken aback by the question; he hadn’t been expecting her to focus solely on him. He had grown quiet as her question, focusing on the road as he pulled into the parking garage at the apartments. Jayoung had raised her gaze to look at him as he turned to face her.

“I missed you, a lot. So much. If anything, even though you weren’t here long, it was lonely” He spoke softly, squeezing her hand as they spoke. Jayoung smiled back at him, before slowly sliding her hand out of his grip. She got out the car, turning and waiting for him before heading to the elevator. Youngbae followed behind her, smiling softly. He didn’t want to let her out of his sight, afraid that he would lose her again. He entered the elevator, pressing the button to his floor.

“So, what kind of pizza should we get?” She spoke up, smiling as she leaned up against one of the walls of the elevator, while Youngbae leaned up against the wall opposite to her. “I really enjoy barbecue chicken pizza” Jayoung took his hand again as they got off at his floor.

“If you like barbecue chicken, then we shall get barbecue chicken. I’ll eat basically anything” Youngbae chuckled softly, swinging their hands as he unlocked his door and led her inside.

Half hour later they were curled up under blankets on the couch, a slice of pizza each. A movie was on the TV, but they were hardly paying attention. Their laughs died down, and she stared at the phone in front of her. “Youngbae?” Jayoung’s voice was now softer, weighed down with sadness. Youngbae took a bite of his slice, humming in acknowledgement. “How is Seunghyun lately?” She continued her question, which made Youngbae freeze momentarily. It hurt his heart, to hear her ask about another male in his presence. A male who once loved her, nonetheless. Who might still love her, like he loved her. He sighed softly as he put down his food.

“He’s. . .coping. I guess. Seunghyun’s version of coping is sleeping around though” Youngbae was being blunt. He guessed that the more he revealed of how cruel Seunghyun was being would hopefully result in Jayoung losing interest in him. Jayoung’s heart broke a little to hear that. “Daesung’s been pretty put out by it. He’s been spending most nights on Seungri’s couch” Jayoung was beginning to feel terrible. It was just like that month nights ago; she was still causing trouble even when she wasn’t there. Youngbae glanced at the female, noticing the look on her face. He hurriedly reached over and grabbed her hand. “It’s not your fault, don’t worry. Hyung. . .hyung just heals in different ways to others” Jayoung squeezed his hand tightly, finishing off her slice.

“How is everyone else? Jiyong isn’t stressing too much over the club?” She changed the subject, letting out a soft laugh. Jayoung never got a chance to get too close to the youngest or Jiyong, since she left too quickly. Youngbae grinned at the question.

“He’s as stressed as always. But Seungri’s doing great. He’s currently mentoring a kid at the club. And Jiyong just scored us another celebrity endorsement. So business looks like it’s going up” Jayoung smiled, leaning over to cup his cheek gently.

“It sounds like things are going amazing” She responded, watching as he leaned into her touch.

“Things are going great. But what about you?” Youngbae asked softly, taking hold of her hand to twine their fingers together. “How are you really doing?”

“I’m. . .I’m surviving” Jayoung said admittedly, nodding her head. “Some days I still have relapses where I blame myself for everything. . .and I regretfully say that I sometimes miss him” Youngbae looked at her alarmed, but she waved that off. “But that’s on the bad nights. My scars are well healed by now and they’re nothing but a memory of sadder times. He’s in jail, he can’t hurt me anymore.” She watched as he traced the various scars along her arms that were left by her abuser. “I’m in between jobs, but I have high hopes I’m going to have a job soon”

Youngbae chuckled softly, and he felt relieved by the fact that he was locked up and away from her. “Maybe you could help around the club” He chuckled softly. “You help out Jiyong with the finances or something. Even the décor. Or planning” Youngbae was only half hopeful. He really did want to give her a reason to stick around, even if the reason wasn’t himself.

“I wouldn’t touch the finances. I’m nowhere near educated enough for anything like that” Jayoung wasn’t lying; she had only graduated high school, and was dragged away from college when she met her ex. He believed that a woman’s worth was in housework and at the home, nowhere else.

“I’m sure we could find something” Youngbae urged, letting out a small laugh. He wasn’t ready to let her go yet. He held onto her hands, their faces barely centimetres apart as they stared at each other, a smile still on their faces. They were at peace, the only light being the TV. Youngbae moved the slightest bit closer, watching as Jayoung’s eyes began to drift closed the closer he got. She could feel his breath ghosting across her lips and just before contact was made, a jangling of keys and the doorknob twisting as light spilled in, interrupting the two as they jumped back. The male froze in the door way, hand still gripping the handle.

“Youngbae, what the is she doing here?”

a/n : yes, this is another random update. I hope I can continue this still.